


Scoop Me Up

by roseimano



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Ice Cream Shop, Co-workers, Fluff, M/M, So just comfort, but not really hurt?, kinda hurt/comfort, verkwan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 19:12:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11766507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseimano/pseuds/roseimano
Summary: Verkwan Ice Cream Shop AUHansol and Seungkwan are co-workers at a little ice cream store. Seungkwan happens to have a secret that Hansol finds out one day when they get caught up in an unexpected storm.





	Scoop Me Up

  
3:46pm is what his wrist watch read when he entered the doors to work, a cozy rose quartz and serenity color themed ice cream shop. Periwinkle blue chairs to go with light pink tables, the sweet smell of homemade waffle cones and an assortment of 17 flavors of ice cream to choose from. It's not often that Hansol is early, but today he had walked to work instead of taking the usual, public transportation. So it's inevitable that he had overestimated the time it would take to walk to the ice cream parlor. The bell on the door chimed as it was opened and closed, grabbing the attention of the other night-shift employee. He was fixing his hair into the required blue hat with the store logo embroidered onto the front. An ice cream cone with two scoops of pink ice cream. The said boy was about to greet whoever entered the shop, expecting a customer, but turned around to see his coworker instead.

“Hansol? You're early for once!” The worker, Seungkwan, exclaimed as he turned to finish wiping down the counters.

“I guess I am,” he responded with a small smile.

“It's a miracle!” The blonde yelled as he threw the dirty rag into the sink. Hansol made his way behind the counter, rolling his eyes at the comment. 

“Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal.” 

Seungkwan turned around, placing a hand on his hip. “Uh-huh. And when was the last time you were early?”

“Er, I-“ Hansol hesitated, “I dunno.”

“Exactly, now clock in and get to work.”

 

* * *

 

 

4:03pm was the time when Hansol joined Seungkwan behind the counter. The first hour of their shift, many people came and went, usually leaving with some sort of ice cream, others leaving when they saw how long the line was. They stayed busy for a couple hours, constantly scooping various ice cream flavors into cones and bowls, then handing them to customers. The rush slowed down as big dark clouds made their way overhead. It seemed that no one was expecting them. One fault to the weather forecasters. Out the windows, Vernon and Seungkwan could see people begin to clear the sidewalks and a few people with umbrellas in hand.

“Looks like business is gonna be slow from now on until these clouds clear up.” Hansol commented, leaning on the counter and turning his head toward Seungkwan.Expecting to see an excited expression on the older male’s face (slacking off at work!), he found what seemed to be the opposite. A frown tugged at Seungkwan’s lips, which he was clearly resisting, and his eyes were creared with worry. Despite his expression, he still was able to respond with a cheerful “Yeah!”

Even when Seungkwan hid his apprehension, Hansol could tell that he was, in one way or another, unsettled. Hell, he can read him like a book. He can tell when he's getting pissed at his costumers, smiling a bit too wide to be normal. Or when he's stressed, when his hands start to shake as he scoops the ice cream and hands the treat to the not-so-patient costumer. So he can definitely tell that when Seungkwan’s fingers tangle together and he avoids eye contact, that something is wrong. But this time, he's not quite sure what exactly is bothering him.

So as the sky gradually became darker, Seungkwan began getting more and more fidgety. He alternated between standing in front of the counter to leaning on the ice cream coolers, and finally, sitting at various tables around the store. Before long, rain started pelting down, making the roof sound as if small pebbles were being constantly thrown at it. Hansol’s phone vibrated in his back pocket. (It’s a requirement to keep your phone on silent during work hours.) Pulling the device out, he took a look at the notification on his screen before unlocking it. Then began to read the article out loud.

“The rain won’t be stopping anytime soon. Bus routes have been delayed and/or canceled. Possible flood warnings and 90% chance of lightning and thunder. This storm could be more severe than originally thought. Stay indoors, strong winds could cause a threat to people outside and maybe even inside their homes.” Hansol paused to look up at Seungkwan. “How the hell did the meteorologist not find this out earlier?”

“I… don’t know, but ya know what? I really have to get home. Like, now.” Seungkwan said as he stood up from one of the tables. His hands clutched onto his apron for a moment before relaxing.

“What?” Hansol watched as Seunkwan walked hurriedly behind the counter to grab husbands phone and wallet. He crossed his arms. “We’re you even listening to what I just said? I literally just finished telling you the dangers of going outside and you’re saying that you wanna go home?”

“Yeah, I heard you… but I have to get home. Like, Now.” He straightened up and placed his possessions on the counter.

“You don't even have a car, and the buses aren’t going anywhere, and there’s no way you’re walking home.” Hansol reasoned. “In fact, there’s no way I’m letting you out of here. What’s so urgent that you have to go right now.”

“I… uh… Have to feed my cat, duh. Can’t let… Josh starve.” Seunkwan responded exasperatedly.

“You don’t have a cat. And what kind of name is Josh for a cat?”

“Hey, its cute! Don’t criticize my cat naming abilities.”

Hansol smiled. Seungkwan looked a little more at ease. Maybe a little more irritated than before, but that beat seeing Seungkwan worried. The room stayed silent as Seungkwan seemed to have forgotten his effort to go home. Leaving his things next to the register, he slowly walked back to the same chair he sat in early, continuing a light conversation with Hansol. But the calm mood was short lived as a bright, white light flashed through the windows. A loud boom followed after, sounding almost as if it came from right above their heads. Seungkwan stood abruptly from the blue, metal chair he was previously sitting in, causing it to fall to the floor with a crash. Those three events happening together startled Hansol to say the least. His posture straightened up as the combined clatter sounded in his ears. His eyes were locked onto Seungkwan, who stood stiffly as his hands laid flat down onto the table. His skin turned a shade paler and his eyes practically bulged out of the eye sockets.

“Oh,” Then Hansol understood. The pacing around, restless tapping on the counter, urgentness to get home, leading up to this moment. It all made sense now.

“Seungkwanie,” Hansol called out, using his most comforting voice. He moved from behind the counter to where Seungkwan stood in the middle of the shop. Softly placing a hand on the other’s shoulder, he turned Seungkwan so that he would face him properly. “Are you afraid of thunderstorms?”

Seungkwan looked down as if he were ashamed and nodded his head. He rose his head to look at Hansol, his eyes still glued to the floor. “It’s childish, I know, just please don’t tell anyone at school about it. I don’t need another reason for the future frat boys to pick on me.”

“No no no, I wouldn’t do that!” Hansol waved his free hand around. “Just, why didn’t you tell me earlier? I would have covered for you so that you could maybe avoid the storm or something. Go home and do whatever you do to cope with it.”

Another strike of lightning appeared outside and a rumble of thunder followed. Seungkwan tensed under Hansol’s hand. “I didn’t know it was going to happen!” he squeaked out.

Hansol felt guilty. Even though he had no part in causing the thunder to rumble the ground and lightning to flash through the dark, he felt so useless that he didn’t know how to comfort the older boy. The sight of the usually cheerful and sassy Seungkwan now tensed from fear made Hansol willing to do anything to cheer him up.

“Hey,” Hansol said to catch Seungkwan’s attention. The blonde looked him in the eye for the first time since he admit his fear. “How about we close the shop and figure out what to do after that.”

Seungkwan looked at him with big eyes “No! We can’t close, we still have to work until eleven.”

“In this weather, I doubt we’ll be getting many customers.” Hansol smiled, somewhat amused by Seungkwan’s dedication to work.

“What if our boss finds out?” 

“I think they’ll understand our reasoning,” Hansol reassured before turning to start closing the shop. He was stopped short when two hands gripped onto his own.

“Wait, wait!” He yelled, startling Hansol that he turned back around to stare at the other.

“Yes?” Hansol asked.

Seungkwan made every effort to keep his eyes from meeting Hansol’s. “This is gonna sound weird and all, and by all means, you can decline but… can you stay close to me and… hold my hand? J-Just because of the thunder and lightning and because I’m afraid. It comforts me to have someone close by to reassure me that everything is okay.” Seungkwan explained, just to let Hansol understand his reasoning. Not to excuse the advantage he’s taking to hold his cute coworker’s hand. Psh, no.  
Hansol didn’t say a word, but complied to the request with a nod as he took Seungkwan’s hand in his own. He controlled a smile from growing on his face after Seungkwan mumbled a quiet ‘Thank you’.

So the two went on, hand in hand, closing the shop. Every now and then, the thunder’s boom would shake the blue and pink walls after a particularly bright strike of lightning struck what seemed nearby. Every time that happened, Seungkwan’s hand would hold tighter onto Hansol’s, gripping him as though his life depended on it. The younger would respond by whispering soothing words and holding back with a (gentler) squeeze.

Once the Closed sign was hung, outside lights were turned off, doors were locked, and so forth, the two boys sat down onto the wooden floor behind the counter. Hands still in each other's grasp, the two sat in silence. Not knowing what could be said to each other. Neither of the boys had made a move to let go of the other, nor did they want to in the first place.

The rain still poured down hard and has no signs of stopping, in fact it seemed as though it was only the beginning of the storm. Wind blew hard against the windows, shaking the glass and causing rain to be thrown against it. Everything outside sounded so violent.

Seungkwan didn't like that at all. Everytime the wind sounded to pick up and rain would fall down harder, he would glance around, out the window and sometimes at the roof. At one point, even the doors rattled from the gusts of wind, as if it were trying to get in, as if it wanted to throw open the doors and flood the little shop with rain. All that could fill Seungkwan’s mind was the worst case scenarios that could occur this night. The town could floor, the store could be stuck with lightning, the windows could break. And for a second, even Hansol believed that being too close to the windows is not the best idea. So as time passed that thought in Hansol's head grew more and more realistic as the windows received some harsh bursts of wind against the glass panes, along what sounded like hail. Seungkwan's face lost color.

“Get up,” Hansol said, as he picked himself up from the floor. Seungkwan looked at Hansol with questioning eyes but didn’t say anything.

“It’s not safe to be surrounded by so many windows. Let’s go into the storage room, there’s no windows and it’s probably safer than it is here.”

Seungkwan only nodded and let Hansol pull him up from the floor. Just as Seungkwan steadied on his feet, the lights above began to flicker. The two looked around at the lights above. The last thing Hansol was able to see in light was Seungkwan’s eyes. They pleaded for everything to be okay, to be safe in this storm, they pleaded for Hansol to protect him during this storm.

And Hansol decided he would do just that.

Then the shop became pitch black. The air conditioners adroitly stopped and the room went silent. The only source of light  were the flashes of lightning every now and then. The two just stood still in the now dark shop. “The power went out.” Seungkwan whispered. “How do we get to the break room.”

“I guess we’ll just have to feel our way around. Stay close and we’ll find our way.”

That quote left Seungkwan holding onto Hansol’s arm. The younger of the two was left with the job of navigating their way to the break room, feeling through ice cream coolers and counters, spilling a couple plastic spoons and a box of plastic cups. Every step they took, Seungkwan was right behind Hansol. The storm carried on around them, wind still whipping dangerously loud against the walls and windows. Hansol finally reached the door to the break room, swinging it open when his hand reached the doorknob.

Seungkwan let out a little sigh as Hansol closed the door. Inside the break room was quieter than the shop itself, but rain still pounded on the roof and thunder could still be heard loud and clear. But it felt safer without all the windows.

Seungkwan loosened his grip on Hansol, realizing that he was kind of holding him in a death grip. By now, their eyes had adjusted to the light and could at least make out what was surrounding them. Hansol walked over to the cushioned chair that was in the corner of the room. The same chair that they would fight about who would sit in during their break.

When Hansol looked up again, he could see Seungkwan standing with a pout on his face. “Where am I supposed to sit?”

Hansol patted his lap, “We can share.” he intended as a joke but the idea didn’t bug him too much.

And for the first time, Seungkwan was grateful to the darkness as it hid his growing blush. “I- ah. Are you sure?” 

Hansol himself became a little choked up. “I mean, I meant-“ He cleared his throat. “I’m fine with it. It’s only if you want to.”

Seungkwan shrugged, a little too embarrassed to make any move. Hansol decided to grab onto Seunkwan’s arm and pull him a little forward. “I’m totally okay with it. So it’s your choice.” He smiled lightly at the boy in front of him. This time, Seunkwan nodded and moved to sit on top of the boy’s lap, lightly muttering, “What if I’m too heavy?” 

Hansol shook his head. “Not a problem,” He wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist. “You're as light as a feather.”

Seungkwan smiled and relaxed in Hansol’s hold. The sounds of the storm outside has become blurred. Instead, Seungkwan’s thoughts were on Hansol and Hansol only. He felt more at ease and finally, he was distracted from the thunderstorm.

Distracted enough, that his eyes began to feel heavier and heavier. Soon enough, his head lulled and fell backwards onto Hansol’s shoulder.

Hansol smiled, leaning his own head against his coworker’s. His arms tightened around his waist. The rain had calmed down so that is wasn't as harsh as before. Thunder still rumbled in the distance. Hansol closed his eyes, drifting away as well. By the time the rain stopped and storm had passed, both boys were fast asleep. Peacefully asleep in each other's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
